Public provision sidelined in ATC offers

Australian Technical Colleges address several agendas for the Howard Government, writes WENDY CURRIE.

Only 12 Australian Technical College (ATC) proposals of the 73 submitted nationwide were considered by the Federal Government to successfully meet the requirements.

Of these, two are in NSW, one at Port Macquarie and one in Illawarra.

Reportedly, other proposals will be accepted once the Federal Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) has helped them rework their plans.

The NSW Department of Education and Training (DET) submitted five proposals involving public schools and/or TAFE colleges, not one of which was accepted. The DET proposals were non-conforming in that they would not offer Australian Workplace Agreements and a board comprising local businesses would have an advisory rather than a governing role.

The whole Federal DEST process has been so shrouded in secrecy that, while it appears that some of the successful proposals were also non-conforming, neither the origin nor nature of the 73 submissions is known.

DEST is reinvestigating two proposals for the Hunter before deciding between them. Neither is a DET proposal. South Western Sydney Institute of TAFE has been notified by DEST that they were unsuccessful.

What is clear is that the NSW DET has been intentionally bypassed in a move that is aimed a sidelining the public provision of education and training, that is, public schools and TAFE colleges that are the major and most successful providers of vocational education and training (VET).

The Federal Government's pursuit of ATCs is driven by its agenda about industrial relations, the privatisation of education and training and the nature and purpose of schooling. In this, it has been heavily influenced by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and the Business Council of Australia (BCA).

Of ACCI's influence, Robin Shreeve, until recently DET's Deputy Director-General (TAFE) said: "I got the impression [Federal VET Minister] Hardgrave was locked into an ACCI view of the world....The impression I get...is that in policy terms, ACCI is highly influential."

The successful Port Macquarie proposal was submitted by the Catholic Diocese of Lismore. St Joseph's Vocational College will use its existing infrastructure, but will operate a dual campus in Taree. Fees for this college are reported to be $1300 per year. Interestingly, it is unknown where the Taree campus will be located, but such a minor detail did not stop the proposal's success. What probably made it a "shoo-in" regardless was that Taree is the home town of local Federal MP and new Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile.

Lack of a suitable site did not stop the Illawarra bid succeeding either. The Illawarra Information Technology Centre (ITeC) is now looking for a site to buy and will charge fees. Currently ITeC provides small business training and employment services. Whether this gives it the expertise to govern a school and provide both academic education and VET is an interesting point.

It certainly could not be better placed to provide this than public schools and TAFE colleges.

That there is more to this agenda than the provision of colleges to address regional skill shortages is clear when you investigate the DET proposals that were unsuccessful. One involved Ballina High School, the recipient of the 2004 Australian Training Award for Excellence in VET in Schools, and the North Coast Institute of TAFE, which won the 2004 Australian Training Award for Large Training Provider of the Year. More experienced than ITeC? One would have thought so.

But the real evidence of the Federal Government's intentions came from an interview with the Federal VET Minister, Gary Hardgrave, in the Canberra Times. Asked about the Queanbeyan proposal, he said: "It's a bit frustrating....Essentially, there was some very good elements to it: it was otherwise strong, but what they've done is structured it the wrong way: they've had it submitted by the NSW Department of Education and Training and there was no way we were ever going to be sending, if you like, the 'Technical College, Queanbeyan', care of the NSW Education Department in Phillip Street, Sydney. They just need to unbundle the building blocks and rebuild the structure and we might [be] in business." What? A proposal from the largest provider of education and training in Australia? -- Can't have that sort of thing going on.

With the DET-sponsored proposals rejected, what the NSW Government now does is anyone's guess. In the interests of students in NSW public schools and colleges, Federation wrote to the Premier earlier this year asking him not to support the Australian Technical Colleges. In part the letter reads: "Australian Technical Colleges cannot exist without State Government support.

"In the interests of equitable and responsible education and training provision, Federation calls on the State Government to oppose the formation of and ongoing state funding of the Australian Technical Colleges and develop a proposal to use the funding announced by the Federal Government for them to enhance the development of trade skills in existing NSW public high schools and TAFE colleges.

"In the event that Australian Technical Colleges are established, Federation demands that the NSW Government at least maintain existing staffing and resource levels for those public high schools and colleges affected. This is essential in order to guarantee curriculum choices continue to be available for students to continue their education at their local public high school or TAFE."

This is what must now happen.

Wendy Currie is a Research Officer.

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